Okay this has a really cool backstory that blew my mind (since I’m a big E6 fan too). In the early 2000s, Isaac Brock teamed up with Elephant 6 members Julian Koster (of Neutral Milk Hotel and The Music Tapes), Bill Doss (of The Olivia Tremor Control), Robbie Cucchiaro (of The Music Tapes), and Kevin Barnes (of of Montreal) and formed a sort of super group only known as “Mysterious Band”. According to people in the E6 facebook group, this band played a few more times with more people.

This recording was released on a compilation called Border Music…Flicker Of A Smile - Athens Experimental (U.S. Pop Life Vol. 10), which was only released in Japan.

“The Mysterious Band” was a group consisting of Julian Koster, Bill Doss, Robbie Cucchiaro, Kevin Barnes, and Isaac Brock (not pictured). They played only one show together at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA during Kindercore Expo 2000. Click here to hear one of the songs they played.

The Music Tapes in Toronto with the artwork from the out of print First Imaginary Symphony for Nomad LP.

From the Merge Records Blog:

Our art director Maggie who lives in Toronto sent us this report from her recent visit with The Music Tapes:

I met up with The Music Tapes’ Julian Koster and Robbie Cucchiaro in Toronto’s Kensington Market for pie. Down the street, they have been putting the finishing touches on their next project. They brought along a copy of the LP package for their out-of-print First Imaginary Symphony for Nomad as we spun ideas for a beautiful package to hold their next album.

Two hours in the company of these kind and radiant souls is like getting a Christmas present in March. You can have half an hour of Music Tapes stories, songs, and year-round Christmas magic through this video of their NPR Tiny Desk Concert recorded last December.